While there are some local groups promoting
understanding between faiths and between Islam and secular Australia, it would
not surprise me to hear that the majority of Australians don’t personally know
one Muslim Australian.

If this is true, it helps explain why there
is so much ‘us and them’ in perceptions on both sides. Muslims make up just
over 2% of the Australian population, though our estimates tend to be wildly wrong on this figure.

Opportunities for understanding Islam in
Australia do come along from time to time. Two such events are coming, and
might be worth checking out: